'Bringing Back the Buffalo' retreat empowers students

Some Saskatoon students are giving up their spare time to stay after class and learn about the power of writing.

The Bringing Back the Buffalo writer's retreat is held by the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild and First Nations University of Canada.

The event has been taking place at the Oskayak High School for the past week.

Organizers said it's all about helping create a strong voice for young Aboriginal students.

"I was quite surprised at the level of writing that was coming out of these young people here," said Randy Morin, a teacher at Oskayak. "A lot of them expressed to me they had never wrote before. It's been inspirational to say the least."

Morin said the seminars are helping students discover how to better express themselves.

"At first they were, you know, not as confident," he said. "As the days wore on they're becoming more confident. They're finding their voice. They're finding who they are."

In the retreat, students have been encouraged to write about personal experiences in a creative way.